The Unseen Crime Wave in Early Seattle

Burglars are not always hard to report, but they are occurring too frequently now in Seattle. There is a very simple explanation for this state of things: a man whose house is burglarized goes and notifies some member of the police force and is at once told to 'say nothing about the matter in the newspapers.' If the newspapers get hold of it there will be no chance for the police to discover the lawbreakers. Keep it from the newspapers. In this way the news of a number of burglaries has been suppressed. Despite the fact that the advice of the officers is nearly always followed, there are no arrests for burglary. The citizens, in fact, have no satisfaction whatever after having done as they were bidden, and are always disappointed because the burglar is not caught. If they had refused to take the advice of the officers and told the public all about the burglary, the police would have been forced to act. One of the reasons why nothing is done in the matter is that the members of the police force are not on the most friendly terms one with another. They do not work together well, and if one learns of a burglary he does not inform the other members of the force, and he says nothing to the chief or captain and the matter dies. If your paper knows all about it, all the members of the police force will know too, and they will feel compelled to take some action in the matter.